Conveyer



Jan. 4, 1949. A E 2,458,077

CONVEYER Filed March 5, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet l IN VEN TOR.

Qua/420 5. rhea/955M Arraewzn Jan.4, 1949. RsJAcoBsEg 2,458,077

CONVEYER Filed March 5, 1945 4 Sheets-Shet 5 IN VEN TOR. Haw/4R0 i 214 coaszrm,

' Arraewzx Patented Jan. 4, 1949 Richard S. Jacobsen, Los Angeles, Calif. Application March 5, 1945, Serial No. 580,972

This invention relates to power, driven convfeyers and more particularly to conveyers of the type. that move material ,therealong by an oscillatory movement of the conveyer which is of such a nature that it imparts a tossing action to material carried by, the conveyer, whereby that material is advanced along the conveyer in asuccession of regularlyrepeated step-by-step actions without requiring any downward slope of thconveyen in the direction of advance. The nature, extent, and frequency of the oscillatory movement ofthe conveyer necessary to result in movement of material therealong are explained with adequate particularity in Patent No. 2,123,189 issued to me on July 12, 1938; and

efiiciency of operation are materially improved 9 as compared with those of the corresponding structures disclosed in my said issued patent.

A further object in this connection is to improvethe construction of the conveyer trough insuch amanner as to enlarge its range of adaptability both with respect to the limitations of space available for the conveyers installation and withfrespect to the character of material to be carried by the conveyer. l

A more detailed object in, this connection is to providein conveyer apparatus of the character indicated, a trough structurewhich, instead of being in the ,form of a continuous run rigid throughout its entire length,is made up of a plurality of separate sections so loosely joined that expansion andcontraction of one or more of the sections can occur without interference with the conveyers efiiciency, thus adapting the conveyer for carrying materials at anycof a wide range of temperatures, as well as at widely vary ing temperatures. a,

A further object is to modify the suppo ting and actuating mechanism for the conveyer in such a manner thatit serves to support and operate two separate and independent conveyers carrying material in opposite directions.

M A still further object is to provide an actuating mechanism for a conveyorof the general character described which is adapted to operate two conveyorsextending angularly with respect to each other, or a single conveyenseparate portions of which extend angularly with jrespect to each other, thus. avoiding, the necessity of providing a separate source of power for each conveyer,

itiis an object of my present invention to provide or for eachiconveyer sectionaslthe case might be. 55

8 Claims; (011198-220) The invention, possesses other objectsand valuable, features, some of, which, with those enumerated, will be set forth in the following description of the preferred embodiments of my invention illustrated in the drawing accompanyin and forming a part of the specification. It

is a be understood that I do not limit myself i to the showing made by said drawing and description but that I may adopt variations of the preferred forms within the scope of my invention as defined bytheclairnst l l l Referring to the drawings: I Figure 1 is a longitudinal, medial, vertical sectional view of a portion of a conveyer incore porating the principles of, the present invention and showing the manner of its connection to its source of actuating power. 1 Figure 2 is a view in side elevation showing another portionof the conveyer of Figure 1 to illustrate the manner in which trough sections are associated with each other to form a continuous trough. t 1 t Figure 3 is a transverse, vertical sectional view taken, upon. the line 3 3 of Figure 2 with the direction of view as indicated. n Figure 4 is a top plan view of the actuating mechanismend power source of Figure 1. This figure may be considered. a compound,v horizontal sectional view taken upon the lines 4-14 of Figure l'with the direction of' view as indicated.

Figure 515 an enlarged, detail view of the trough sections and, actuating mechanism of Figure 2, portions of the figure being broken away to reduce itssize r U t .Figure 6is a view similar toFigure 2, but illustrating almodified form of. construction whereby two oppositely flowing conveyers are operated by a single actuating mechanism.

Figure 7 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken upon the line 'I-'! of Figure 6 with the direction of view as indicated. Fi gL lIQ 8 is, a top plan view showing portions of two, angularly extending conveyers, one of which receivesits load from the other, both conveyers being operatedlby a single power source.

Figure 9 is a vertical sectional view taken upon the line 9- -9 of Figure 8 with thedirection of view as indicated. l i

Referring first to that modification ,of my present inventionlwhichis illustrated in Figures 1 to 5 inclusive, it ,will be seen that, as in the caselof the conveyer forming the subject matter of my said issued patent, the trough II advantageously, can be constructed of any suitable materiaLsheetgmetal being preferable, however,

inasmuch as one of the details of the present invention particularly adapts my conveyer for use in carrying materials at high temperatures.

With this object in View, the trough I i, instead of being constructed of one long continuous run of trough, supported at a plurality of points by several supporting and actuating mechanisms l2, consists of a plurality of relatively short trough sections 43, -l4,-etc. --Each trough section is supported a't only one point, that point being *ad-. jacent its inlet end It, whereas the outlet end ll of each section, instead of being connected directly to any supporting and actuating mechanism, merely rests upon the inlet end l6 ofthenext successive section in the direction in which material carried by the conveyerismoved, That is to say; if the section i3 is the first or beginning trough section in a run of conveyer trough II, it

4 fication shown it is double, i. e., each of the upper and lower arms 3| and 32, respectively, consists of a pair of spaced parallel lever members, all of which, along with the central hub 28, are in the form of a single unitary structure, preferably a casting.

A shaft 36 extends between the two parallel levers which comprise the upper arm 3| of the bell c r-ank, this-shaft Mi being-rparal-lel to the supporting shafiti 24 andisimilarly retained in position as by a washer 31 and cotter pin 38 on j each end of the shaft 36. This shaft 36 also extends through the lower end of a bracket 39 is directly connected to its supporting and 'actuat nicely'within the inlet end iii of the next successivetrough section.

The several trough sections 13, -i4,etc., are not positively locked together. Insteadythey are held in'contact with each other only by gravity. As the'result ofthis arrangement, relative sliding movementof the interenga'ging portions of ad- 'ja'centtroug'h sections l3, 14 can occur with respect to eachother; and since 'each trough section is connected to its actuating and supporting structure I-2 at only one point, if one or more of the "trough sections I3, I4 is caused to expanel or contract, as by being subjected to excessively high or low temperatures, such variation in length of each trough section'will have no tendencyto'buckle the conveyor trough II or to have any efiect whatsoever upon the relationsh'ipof any part of the trough to actuating mechanism I 2. It has *beenfdund that when the con veyer trough was constructed*inaccdrdance with the "showing in my said issued patent, i. e.',

wherein each runof the conveyer consists of a singlerelatively longelernent of trough supported at two or more points upon its actuating mechanisin, 't'h'e efliciency with which the conveyor would operate would be impaired to an excessive degree when material at relatively high temperature would come in contact with the conveyer trough, "as will readily be understood from the following description of the construction and operation of the supporting and actuating mechanism i2.

Supporting brackets '22 are rigidly mounted at intervals along the supporting framework 2| of the conveyer substantially corresponding to the respective lengths of the trough sections I 3, 14, etc. Each of these bracketsZZ preferably comprises a pair of horizontally spaced and yertically extending flanges '23 adjacent the upper edges of which a transversally extending shaft 24is mounted. The shaft 24 is retained in position by any suitable means, such as a collar "M5 and cotter pin 2'! upon each'end of the shaft. The shaft 24extends through the central supporting hub'28 (see Figure 3) of a'bell crankstructure 29; and whereas this bell crankcould, with equal advantage,- be of single construction-inthe modi wards from a trough section, say the trough section 14, adjacent the inlet end l6 thereof.

Wl 1ereas=*any*sutiable means for mounting the bracket 39 upon its trough section may be employed, that which has been chosen for illustration herein consists of an angle iron 4| welded or otherwise rigidly'secured to each of the "lateral sfi'de'walls of the trough sections [4 insuch position thattheunde'r 'faces of their outwardly extending'flanges 42 lie in substantially planar Another transversally extending Shaft 46., also 'parallel'to 'the central'shaft 24, extends between the *wole'vers' which comprise the downwardly extending arm-32 of thebell crank 29,'thi's "shaft 46 also being retained inoperative position as by acollar l'l and aco'tter pin 48 on each'end ofthe shaft 46: This'shaft'lfiserves as the meansfor connecting the downwardly extendingarm 32 to an actuator'bar 49, and'the lower arms 3'2 of all the-bell cranks 2 9 associated with a single run of conveyer trough are conne'cted t'crth'e actuator bar 49 insuch position thereon that they are d'ispos-ed'in' ara11e1 relationship with'eah other. when a" run of "conveyer composed of J one piece andbf such' length as to require "connectionto moretlian one supporting and actuatingmechanism was employed; owing to the "fact "that the upper arms 3| of all of thefa'ssociatedbell'cranks were "connected tothat run, binding "of the moving'"pa=rts of the "structure would occur, and'in somehns'tances 'evenactual bucklingof the conveyer trough, when' the trough wassubjectedto temperatures sufficiently high to cause an appr'ci-able' longitudinal expansion thereof. However,- by constructing the'trough of a 'pluralit'y'o'f separate and relatively slidable trough 'sections an onnectin'g eacl1 trou'gh' section to but a single"-'supporting and actuating mechanism "in accordan'cewith the principles of the present invention, 'Ihave provided means for compensating "fdfahy degree of expansion or contraction without' -a; y interference whatsoever with'operating emeieney,-in smueh as each section of trough is neeao *movein telescopic relationwit'h the section adjacenttherto; v

It is optionall whether the actuator bar "49 be or -one 'pie'oe throughout its entire length or be W lfi "a plurality of sectionseac'h section being long enough to interconnect "the shaft "46 of :two adjacent actuating mechanisms 12. ,Itis inthis latter {form that the actuator bar '49 "has been illustrated. As clearly shown in Figure "3, one-seotion"5l of the actuator bar comprises In order to impart oscillatory rotary motion to i all of the bell cranks 29 simultaneously, means are provided for the longitudinal reciprocation of theactuator bar 49. One end of the actuator bar 49 is connected as by a wrist pin 56 with a connecting rod 51 atthe outer end of which aneccentric strap 58 is secured. This eccentric strap 58 encircles an eccentric disc 59 which is carried by a shaft BI journalled in bearings 62 upon a suitable supporting framework or platform 03. The shaft 6! also is provided with a driven pulley '64 connected as by V-belts 66 with the driving pulley of a motor 68. Consequently, the rot-ary motion which is imparted to the eccentric disc 59 as the result of energization of the motor 68 causes the actuator bar 49 to reciprocate longitudinally, thereby imparting oscillatory rotary movement simultaneously to all of the bell cranks 29 with which that actuator bar is associated. Since the angularity between the upper and lower arms 3I and 32, respectively, of each bell crank is approximately midway between that of a right angle and a straight angle, this oscillatory movement of all of the bell cranks 29 supporting a single run of troughs II imparts an oscillatory,

arcuate movement to the entire length of that run, developing the tossing action which, as explained in detail in myaforesaid Patent No. 2,123,189, causes material within the trough II to advance therealong in a succession of regularly repeated, step-by-stepmovements in spite of the fact that the conveyer II is either horizontal or even actually sloping upwards as much as in the direction in which the material moves.

As liereinabove described, the bell crank of each of the supporting and actuating. mechanisms is of integral construction instead of consisting of an upperarm keyed or otherwise releasably connected to a transverse shaft to which is also keyed the lower arm or lever which is connected to the actuator bar. proven that in the non-integral construction shown in my said prior patent wherein the upper and lower arms are connected to a transverse shaft by a key or the like, not only is a disproportionate amount of expense encountered in its manufacture, but its durability and dependability are impaired because of the fact that the continuously repeated and oppositely occurring stresses Actual practice has 6 energy to torque and without the necessity of having to use any keyed mechanism which is so apt tobe short lived and, which, therefore, is relatively undependable.

Figures 6 and 7 show a modified form of my invention wherein two independent troughs 1'9 and 11 are both supported and actuated by a singleseries of supporting mechanisms 18 and a single actuatorbar 19. As in the previously described modification, the troughs 16, I1, instead of being of one relatively long, unitary trough element, are composed of a plurality of trough sections BI, 82, etc, these sections being arranged in the same manner, as in the previously described modification of the present invention, 1. e., with the delivery or outlet end of each section 8| nested within and supported by the inlet end of the next successive section in the direction in which material is carried by that conveyer. The bell crank structure 86 of each supporting and actuating mechanism I8, instead of consisting of but a single upper arm, is provided with a pair of upper arms and 88 which are disposed at substantially 90 with respect to each other and at substantially 135 withrespect to the lower arm 89, and upon opposite sides of the longitudinal axis thereof. The lower trough I6 isconnected to resultin from the reciprocatory movement of the I actuator bar almost inevitably causes the keys to work loose. Moreover, it has been found that the reversal of torque imposed upon the transverse shaft which carries the angularly extending levers of the structure disclosed in my said prior patent will, if continued for a long period, set up crystallization in that shaft, causing its failure.

It was for the purpose of obviating these limitations of my prior mechanism that the integral structure of the bell crank mechanism 29 herein disclosed was developed. Actual practice has proven the improved structure of the present invention to be superior inasmuch as it transmits the energy from the actuator bar 49 directly to the bracket 39 of the trough in a straight, pivoted lever action andwithout having totranslate the one of the upper arms, say the arm 81 of the bell crank 86. Hence, when the actuator bar I9 moves to the right, as view-ed upon Figure 6, the conveyor trough I6 is carried upward and to the left in ar-cuate motion, developing the tossing action which causes the material carried thereby to move along the conveyer to, the left, as viewed in that figure. As this is occurring the other conveyor trough 11 which is connected as by an elongated bracket structure 9| to the other upper arm 88 of the bell crank 86, is moving in an arcuate path downwards and to the left, as viewed upon Figure 6. However, when the actuator bar "I9 moves in the opposite direction, i. e., to the left, the conveyer" will be carried upward and to the right, developing the tossing action upon the material carried thereby which causes the material to advance to the right along the conveyer TI. 0 Thus it may be seen that a single series of bell cranks 8 6 and a single actuator bar I9 can serve to operate two separate conveyors I6, I! in such a manner as to cause material to flow in opposite directions thereupon.

Figures 8 and 9 illustrate a still further modified form of my improved conveyer mechanism wherein two conveyors extending angularly with respect to each other (or two angularly disposed runs of a single conveyer) are actuated by a single source of power, the actuator bar for the two conveyers (or for the two runs of the same conveyer, as the casemight be) being so interconnected that the motion of the actuator bar proximal to the source of energy is transmitted simultaneously a d coextensively to the other actuator bar.

In the modification illustrated in Figures 8 and 9, the discharge end IOI of one run I022 of a conveyer trough I03 inclines upwards slightly so that itterminates above the trough I04 of another conveyer (or of another run I05 of the same conveyer I 02), the trough I04 extending angularly with respect to the trough I03, thus making it possible to carry material in two different directions. The series of supporting and actuating mechanisms I01 for the run I02 of trough I03 are carried by a suitable supporting structure I08 parallel to and below the trough I03; and the actuator bar I09 for the run I02 is disposed just bell crank adjacent the intersection of said arms, an actuator bar pivotally connected to the lower ends of all of said bell cranks, and means for reciprocating said actuator bar.

7. In conveyer apparatus, a pair of troughs arranged in spaced parallel relation and means for supporting said troughs and imparting oscillatory movement thereto comprising a plurality of hell cranks, each comprising a pair of integrally joined arms extending upwards angularly with respect to each other, and a lower arm integral with said upwardly extending arms and extending downwards from the intersection thereof, means pivotally connecting one of said upwardly extending arms of each of said bell cranks to one of said conveyers, means pivotally connecting the other of said upwardly extending arms of each of said bell cranks to the other of said conveyers, means supporting each of said bell cranks for movement about a horizontal axis extending transversally of said bell crank adjacent the intersection of said arms thereof, an actuator bar pivotally connected to the lower ends of all of said bell cranks,

and means for reciprocating said actuator bar.

8. In conveyer apparatus, a pair of troughs arranged in spaced parallel relation, each of said troughs comprising a plurality of trough sections arranged in overlapping relation with the outlet end of each of said sections overlying the inlet end of the next successive section in the direction of movement of material carried by that trough, and means for supporting said troughs and imparting oscillatory movement thereto comprising a plurality of hell cranks, each comprising a pair of integrally joined arms extending upwards angularly with respect to each other, and a lower 10 arm integral with said upwardly extending arms and extending downwards from the intersection thereof, means pivotally connecting one of said upwardly extending arms of each of said bell cranks to one of said conveyers, means pivotally connecting the other of said upwardly extending arms of each of said bell cranks to the other of said, conveyers, means supporting each of said bell cranks for movement about a horizontal axis extending transversally of said bell crank adjacent the intersection of said arms thereof, an actuator bar pivotally connected to the lower ends of all of said bell cranks, and means for reciprocating said actuator bar.

RICHARD S. JACOBSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

